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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

New And (Hopefully) Improved Who Am I Wednesday!

Here on "A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE", I'll be the first one to admit when something in the blog isn't quite working the way that I wanted it to.  I'll also be the first one to admit that sometimes my ideas sound much better in my head than they do on paper.

Or, in this case, a computer screen.

I thought that the "
WHO AM I WEDNESDAY" feature, in which you have to guess who the person I'm talking about is based on the diary entries they write was going to be a big hit, but looking at the stats, of the three brand new days that I've incorporated into the blog, Wednesdays are ranked the lowest of the seven day week.  I tried it for two weeks just to see if there was any sort of increase in readership, but to be honest with you, I began having second thoughts about keeping the feature going in its current format.

(By the way, the answer to last week's entry was Ned Flanders.)




However, I still like the idea of the theme day title.  "WHO AM I WEDNESDAY" is still a really interesting idea...but maybe what I'll do is change it up.

Instead of doing diary entries about fictional characters, what if I went back to doing diary and video entries about myself doing a little bit of self-reflection and looking deeper into myself to figure out what makes me tick, and what went into some of the choices that I made when I was a child, the choices I'm currently making now, and the choices that I hope to make in the future.

In fact, I'm going to make this edition of the new and (hopefully) improved version of "WHO AM I WEDNESDAY" a video blog.  Would you believe that the last time I posted a video blog was way back on the first of May?  That's almost three weeks ago!  Oh, well.  I guess you could say that I'm making up for lost time in a sense, right?

So, how am I going to do this blog?  Well, you know how I did that piece on MOTIVATION MONDAY earlier this week where on my chat show we read the messages that we would leave behind after we pass away.

(And, given that the episode originally aired on my birthday, I found it quite ironic to talk about death on the day that I was born...but nevertheless, we went ahead with it.)

Admittedly, mine was structured in a way that I was trying to clear up any misconceptions that people had in regards to how they saw me.  I don't know if I did such a good job with that, but I'll let you be the judge.  All you have to do is find the entry that I wrote on May 19, 2014, and you can read my epitaph, so to speak.  To me, it makes sense, but I'll let you make your own judgment call on that one.

In the meantime, I want to use this space to clear up another misconception...only this time, it is one that I had about myself.

MISCONCEPTION #6:  I lack athletic ability.

The truth?  Revealed in video format right...now.



So, what do you think?  Do you think you can live with the new "WHO AM I WEDNESDAY"?  I'd love to hear your comments.  You can post them here, or at my e-mail address at matthewwturcotte518@gmail.com!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

May 20, 1946

Hello, everyone!  Are you ready for the next edition of the Tuesday Timeline?  I hope you are because I've got another new topic to talk about.  As you well know, this month is going to feature celebrity birthdays, and my job is to try and find one piece of trivia for each year that they have been alive.  Two weeks ago, I featured George Clooney, and last week, I featured Stevie Wonder.  Maybe I should feature a female this week to try and balance things out a bit.

For now though, let's have a look at the events and celebrity birthdays for May 20.

526 - A quarter of a million people are killed after an earthquake devastates the area that is now called Syria and Antiochia

1570 - Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum - the first modern atlas

1609 - William Shakespeare's sonnets are first published in London

1813 - The Battle of Bautzen takes place in Saxony, Germany when Napoleon Bonaparte leads his troops into battle with Russian and Prussian forces

1862 - The Homestead Law is passed by President Abraham Lincoln

1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a patent to manufacture blue jeans with copper rivets

1883 - The eruption of Mt. Krakatoa begins - would erupt three months later, killing 36,000 people

1891 - Thomas Edison displays the prototype of the first kinetoscope

1899 - The very first traffic ticket was issued to Jacob German in New York City when he was arrested for speeding while driving 12 miles an hour!

1927 - Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York to embark on the world's first solo non-stop fight across the Atlantic Ocean

1932 - Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to embark on the world's first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic by a female pilot

1969 - The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends

1980 - Quebec residents vote in favour of not separating from Canada with 60% of the votes during the 1980 Referendum

1983 - The discovery that the HIV virus causes AIDS is first published in scientific magazines

1989 - Actress/comedienne Gilda Radner succumbs to ovarian cancer at the age of 42

1996 - Jon Pertwee - the Third Doctor - dies at the age of 76

2011 - Wrestler Randy Savage dies of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 58

2012 - Singer Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees dies of liver and kidney failure at the age of 62

2013 - An EF5 tornado devastates the community of Moore, Oklahoma, killing 24 and injuring 377 others

And, a very happy birthday to John Cruickshank, David Hedison, Constance Towers, Anthony Zerbe, John Strasberg, Joe Cocker, Mary Pope Osborne, Dave Thomas, Cindy McCain, Dean Butler, Ron Reagan, Jane Wiedlin, Susan Cowsill, Bronson Pinchot, John Billingsley, Tony Goldwyn, Dan Abrams, Mindy Cohn, Timothy Olyphant, Busta Rhymes, Matt Czuchry, Angela Goethals, Candace Bailey, and Jack Gleeson.

Okay, so I've left off one celebrity birthday on purpose.  And, as I said before, this person is female.  So, when was she born?



May 20, 1946.  Oh, NO!  Well, okay, the positive is that I'm debuting the new Tuesday Timeline year logo to go with the new colour scheme of the blog.  The negative?  I have to come up with sixty-eight fun facts about this celebrity superstar!  Why couldn't I have chosen someone born in 1990 instead?



Oh well...since I can't go back on my word, I may as well let you know that today's blog subject is CHER.  And Cher has definitely been a huge force in the recording industry for nearly five whole decades!  So, I'm thinking that finding 68 pieces of trivia for every single one of Cher's 68 years of life will be easy.  At least...I HOPE so.

1 - Cher's name at birth was Cherilyn Sarkisian.

2 - Cher's mother was married EIGHT times!  Three of those marriages were to Cher's father!

3 - Cher herself was only married twice in comparison - once to Sonny Bono, and once to Gregg Allman.

4 - Cher has two children.  Elijah Blue Allman and Chaz Bono (formerly known as Chastity).



5 - She is the oldest female artist to have a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the single "Believe".  At the time, she was 52 years old.

6 - Cher was once so poor as a child that she reportedly used rubber bands to hold her shoes together.

7 - Her first stage production was for a fifth grade performance of the musical "Oklahoma!"

8 - Her childhood idol growing up was Audrey Hepburn, and she even began dressing like her when "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was released.

9 - She is dyslexic, going undiagnosed for many years before being diagnosed with it as an adult.

10 - Dropped out of high school when she was 16 to pursue a career in entertainment.



11 - Cher first met her first husband Sonny Bono in 1962.  Cher was just 16...Sonny was 27. 

12 - And would you believe that Cher was originally hired to be Sonny's housekeeper?  It's kind of like "Who's The Boss", only in reverse.

13 - Sonny and Cher first began performing together in 1964...under the stage name of Caesar & Cleo.  Don't worry if you haven't heard of them.  They never had a hit...



14 - ...that is until the group started recording as Sonny and Cher, and their hit "I Got You Babe" hit #1 during the summer of 1965.

15 - Teenagers were so in love with Sonny and Cher's fashion style that Cher was even inspired to design her own line of clothing!

16 - Sonny and Cher married in 1964, but the marriage was already in trouble as early as 1969 when Sonny cheated on her with several women.

17 - However, when Sonny and Cher were offered their own show after they appeared as guest hosts on "The Merv Griffin Show", they decided to stay together...at least they agreed to it then.

18 - That show was The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour", which premiered in August 1971.

19 - That same year, Cher achieved her very first solo #1 single in "Gypsys, Tramps, & Thieves".

20 - Although Cher's divorce from Sonny Bono was finalized in June 1975, the marriage was reportedly over three full years before that in 1972.  Cher continued with the variety show until 1974 though.

21 - She had a two year love affair with record executive David Geffen in the early 1970s.

22 - She is the winner of three Golden Globe Awards, won in 1974 for her variety series with Sonny Bono, 1984 for "Silkwood", and 1988 for "Moonstruck".

23 - She is also the winner of an Emmy Award for her 2003 concert special "Cher:  The Farewell Tour".

24 - She is also the winner of a Grammy Award where she won for her single "Believe".



25 - She is also the winner of an Academy Award in 1988 for Best Actress for the film "Moonstruck".

26 - Sadly, she was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award in 2010 for her role in "Burlesque"...



27 - ...the good news is that she lost the award!

28 - She was featured twice on People's Most Intriguing People of The Year issues in 1975 and 1987 respectively.

29 - There was a twenty-five year gap between two of Cher's #1 hits between 1974's "Dark Lady" and 1999's "Believe".

30 - Cher appeared on the cover of People Magazine a total of 13 times.

31 - If you allow #1 dance hits, Cher has had at least one #1 hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.



32 - Cher isn't wearing flowered panties in the video for "If I Could Turn Back Time".  That's actually a tattoo!  Rumour has it that she's underwent procedures to remove it.

33 - In total, Cher has six tattoos.

34 - She's also been called the "poster girl" of plastic surgery, even though Cher herself has stated that she hasn't had as many procedures as people think.

35 - Cher was awarded with an award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1999 for her contribution to fashion.

36 - One of Cher's favourite designers was Bob Mackie - who also designed the costumes for "The Carol Burnett Show".

37 - Appeared on an episode of "Will & Grace".

38 - Is widely considered to be one of the biggest gay icons in the world.

39 - She performed the Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999.

40 - Despite having a "Farewell Tour" which lasted between 2002 and 2005, Cher is currently embarking on the "Dressed To Kill" tour, which begin in March 2014.

41 - Reunited with Sonny Bono in a 1987 episode of "Late Night With David Letterman.



42 - She read a heartfelt eulogy for Sonny Bono after his January 1998 death.

43 - Performed a cover version of "The Shoop Shoop Song" in 1990 to promote the movie "Mermaids", which she starred in alongside Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci.

44 - Identifies herself as a Buddhist.

45 - Stands at five feet, eight-and-a-half inches tall.

46 - She lived with Gene Simmons for several years.

47 - She was offered the role of Thelma in the 1991 film "Thelma & Louise".  The part eventually went to Geena Davis.

48 - She really wanted to play the role of Morticia Addams in "The Addams Family", but Anjelica Huston won the part instead.

49 - She was forced to wear braces in adulthood.

50 - Suffers from a fear of flying.



51 - She was offered a role in "The Witches of Eastwick" on May 20, 1986 - Cher's 40th birthday.

52 - Is one of only six actors/actresses to have both a #1 single and an Academy Award.

53 - Auditioned for the role of Bonnie Parker in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde".  The part went to Faye Dunaway.

54 - Before giving birth to Chastity/Chaz Bono, Cher suffered four miscarriages.

55 - She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 1998.

56 - Cher's ex-husband, Gregg Allman and her son Elijah made cameo appearances in the "If I Could Turn Back Time" video.

57 - "If I Could Turn Back Time" was actually banned from MTV for a period of time.

58 - Cher married Gregg Allman just three days after her divorce from Sonny Bono was finalized.



59 - The video for "Song For The Lonely" is one of the last videos made that features the World Trade Center.  The video was filmed just days before the 9/11 attacks.



60 - Cher re-recorded her hit single "I Got You Babe" with Beavis and Butt-Head in 1993.

61 - Released a total of twenty-five studio albums.

62 - In November 2010, Cher placed her handprints in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

63 - Turned down the opportunity to perform at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia due to Russia's anti-gay stance.

64 - She is not a registered Democrat, but has been seen at several Democratic conventions over the years.

65 - Contributed to "Operation Helmet".

66 - Has done work with "Habitat for Humanity".

67 - Worked as a model for photographer Richard Avedon in the late 1960s.




68 - Her latest album was released in 2013.

Whew.  I'm exhausted!  That was a lot to write!  But, at 68, Cher certainly shows no sign of slowing down at all!

Monday, May 19, 2014

If I Were To Write My Epitaph.



Before I go ahead with today's Motivation Monday, why not have a listen to the seventh episode of our MOTIVE4CHANGE talk show?  I, along with my friends JOSHUA, CARINE, and JONATHON had a lot of fun recording this one.  We tried a whole bunch of different things this episode, and I hope you like what you hear.

In this case, the major topic was what message we would leave behind in the world if we were to die.  And, well, given that we aired this episode on my birthday, it seemed a bit morbid to talk about death on my birthday.  But such as it is, here's the episode.

EPISODE #7 - OUR DYING ADVICE TO THE WORLD - 5/18/2014



But, I do have to mention one thing.  Some of the audio was compromised while we were recording because the final product had some parts that were corrupted.  It was nobody's fault, but we ended up losing some of our recording.  So, just to show you exactly what I really wanted to say, I thought that I would just post a text version of the speech I wrote for this episode.  Enjoy!


I have to admit that when it comes to leaving my epitaph behind, I never really gave it a lot of thought.  For one, although I know that immortality is an impossibility, I also get sort of creeped out talking about death.  It just seems so finite, and I don't want to think about dying until a long time from now.  But one thing that I have learned is that not all of us have the luxury of time, and sometimes the things you leave behind are not necessarily possessions, but words.

So, the question is simply this.  If heaven forbid I end up dying tomorrow, what is it that I would want them to know about me?  What sort of misconceptions about me would I want to clear up with those I left behind?  And, what sorts of secrets would I take to the grave?

Well, okay...I don't have THAT many secrets.  I was just being dramatic.

Okay, so let's begin with the various misconceptions that people that passed through my life have believed about me during the course of my life, shall we?

MISCONCEPTION #1:  People in my life had the belief that I am "damaged goods" or "broken", and that because of that they felt a need to try and "fix me".

Here's a news flash for those people.  I wasn't born broken, but I certainly was made to feel that way by the very people who tried to "fix me" under the guise of friendship and compassion.  Please, let's not beat around the bush.  There is absolutely zero friendship and compassion in telling somebody that they will never amount to anything because they aren't like anybody else.  That goes towards the teachers who sent me out of class and forced me to walk around school hallways with books on my head because my walking on my tiptoes was too "abnormal" for them.  That goes towards the classmates who were ballsy enough to offer me "dieting tips" because they believed that they would like me more if I lost a few pounds.  Truth be told, as I matured, I discovered that I could never sustain a friendship based on superficiality and shallowness!

Though, this does lead to my second point...

MISCONCEPTION #2:  I made self-depreciating comments about myself because I am attention seeking and wanted people to notice me.

In all honesty, the reason I poked fun at myself, and made all sorts of sarcastic jabs towards me wasn't because of attention.  Hell, if I wanted the attention, I'd strip off all my clothes and go running through a crowded shopping mall.  I'm sure that would have gotten people's attention...and me a one-way-ticket to a county jail for a 24-hour accommodation. 

Truth is...I did it because it hurt a lot less when I said it instead of letting other people tease me and belittle me.  It was what I thought to be a really nifty defense mechanism.  The more I belittled myself, the less the comments from other thoughtless people would hurt, and the better I'd feel.

I guess this leads into point number three.

MISCONCEPTION #3:  That plan of action that I just described in MISCONCEPTION #2 was nothing more than a placebo.

In fact, it taught me that of all the enemies that I had in this life, I was probably the worst one.  What was I thinking with that advice?  Certainly not one of my smarter moments.

And, from there, we go on to my fourth point.

MISCONCEPTION #4:  I grew up in a family that didn't have riches, so therefore I was not worth knowing.

I have to state that this is absolutely not true.  In fact, I want to tell you something that I've never actually revealed here.  My childhood was certainly no bed of roses in school, but there were times in my early childhood education in which we endured a lot of hardships which included losing the home that my family was renting and having to move in with my grandparents for a few months, causing a lot of stress within three different generations of families.  I don't remember much about that time, but I do recall that the general mood was glum.  I hate to admit it, but I was secretly a little bit jealous of my classmates who had the big houses and toys filling their bedrooms, and who wore the latest fashions, and all of that jazz.  It didn't dawn on me that their lives could have been filled with a lot of anger, sadness, and pain.  A lot of the kids in my school seemed to judge people based on how much money they had, and since my family didn't have a whole lot, they didn't give me the time of day.  But you know something?  Somehow, I still think that I turned out all right.  At least I know the value of a dollar and at least I know how to save money for a rainy day.  Hell, there have been years in which I have survived monsoons, and still have come out money ahead!  I suppose that my upbringing had a lot to do with it, and I'm proud of my non-materialistic ways.

MISCONCEPTION #5:  I'm socially awkward because I have no people skills.

Actually, I'm socially awkward because of having social anxiety brought on by years of being treated horribly by peers (which unfortunately you'll run into no matter where you are), and by some adult figures in my life (who unfortunately were old enough to know better).  But thanks to those of you judgmental people for continuing to judge me even though you never once made an effort to include me or make me even feel human.  Good to know.

Now, I know what you're saying.  You're thinking that my epitaph is just me venting a lot of frustration over how things went in my life.  You're absolutely right.  I did vent a lot of frustration.  I guess it's because I kept things bottled up for so long that if I were to die tomorrow, leaving this message behind would be a kind of a wake-up call to those people who jumped to the wrong conclusions about me.  It would let them know that I am not the person they thought I was.  That I didn't need fixing.  That I had feelings that were more sensitive than other people's.  That I could be a social butterfly if I were treated like I belonged and that I was worthy of respect.

I guess that after I am gone from this world, I wouldn't want people to associate me with negative memories.  Instead, I want to see seen as sensitive, kind, intuitive, empathetic, and most of all, strong.

After all...you don't have to raise a wall, or push a car down a hill, or lift up a 500 pound barbell to show that you're strong.  You can measure a person's true strength just by measuring just how much they've had to go through in their lives.  And, I think that my legacy will be one of strength.  I may not show it, but I'm a lot stronger than most will ever give me credit for.

Most of all myself.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Jumpin' Kris Kross



Well?  What do you think? 



As promised, I did mention that the site would be getting a complete overhaul this weekend, and as you can see, the site renovation is complete, and just six days ahead of schedule for the blog's third anniversary!


Well, okay, I have a confession to make.  I did plan to time this renovation for the eighteenth anyways.  I figure that since I'm turning another year older today that it was time for a fresh new beginning.  The renovation of the blog was just the first step.  I'm looking at 33 as being a transitional year.  Here's hoping that I can make it that way.  Of course, we never know what the future will hold.  All we can do is take things one day at a time.

Now, on with the subject of today's Sunday Jukebox.  Today is the day that I take a look back in time through the various songs that hit #1 on my birthday.  Won't that be fun!



The problem is...I can't do the blog on the #1 song the exact day I was born.  I already did a piece on Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" when this blog was first started.  Too bad too.  It would have been a great song to feature.

Hmmm...maybe if I post the other 33 songs that hit #1 on my birthday, I'll be inspired to come up with the right song to discuss.  Surely there must be some song that I like enough to feature on this page.

I've already revealed the #1 song for May 18, 1981, so let's start off with 1982 and go from there...

1982 - Ebony & Ivory - PAUL MCCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER
1983 - Beat It - MICHAEL JACKSON
1984 - Hello - LIONEL RICHIE
1985 - Don't You (Forget About Me) - SIMPLE MINDS
1986 - Greatest Love Of All - WHITNEY HOUSTON
1987 - With Or Without You - U2
1988 - Anything For You - GLORIA ESTEFAN & MIAMI SOUND MACHINE
1989 - Forever Your Girl - PAULA ABDUL
1990 - Vogue - MADONNA
1991 - I Like The Way (The Kissing Game) - HI-FIVE
1992 - Jump - KRIS KROSS
1993 - That's The Way Love Goes - JANET JACKSON
1994 - The Sign - ACE OF BASE
1995 - This Is How We Do It - MONTELL JORDAN
1996 - Tha Crossroads - BONE THUGS-n-HARMONY
1997 - Hypnotize - THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
1998 - Too Close - NEXT
1999 - Livin' La Vida Loca - RICKY MARTIN
2000 - Maria Maria - SANTANA
2001 - All For You - JANET JACKSON
2002 - Foolish - ASHANTI
2003 - Get Busy - SEAN PAUL
2004 - Yeah! - USHER
2005 - Hollaback Girl - GWEN STEFANI
2006 - SOS - RIHANNA
2007 - Makes Me Wonder - MAROON 5
2008 - Bleeding Love - LEONA LEWIS
2009 - Boom Boom Pow - BLACK EYED PEAS
2010 - OMG - USHER f. will.i.am
2011 - E.T. - KATY PERRY f. KANYE WEST
2012 - Somebody That I Used To Know - GOTYE f. KIMBRA
2013 - Can't Hold Us - MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
2014 - All Of Me - JOHN LEGEND


Well, right off the bat, I can eliminate the songs from 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990, and 1994.  I already did blogs on all of those songs already.  And, I'm going to just put it out there.  Many of these songs (particularly the ones released after 1995) are ones that I am not a fan of.  And, besides, 1995 was considered to be my worst birthday ever with two-fifths of my family being hospitalized due to surgery, so I really don't want to talk about that year.

So, you know...I came up with an idea.  Why don't I just pick the birthday that I remember the most and just go from there.  And, in fact, I can tell you exactly what it was.



It would be birthday #11...so that would take us to the year 1992.  For starters, my birthday fell on a Monday, which in Canada meant no school! (In Canada there's a holiday called "Victoria Day" which occurs on the Monday during the week of May 18-24, and every time my birthday falls on a Monday, I miss school).  But did you know that my whole fifth grade class actually got together to throw me a surprise party?  Believe it or not, it really did happen!  It's also one of the reasons why I have more fond memories of elementary school than I do high school.  It's hard for me to explain who came up with the idea for the party, and I don't know how they pulled it off...but it was a really kind gesture for all of the kids to get together to help me ring in birthday #11!  I never forgot that.  And, even though I haven't seen some of those kids in years, and even though some of the kids didn't quite get along with me...it certainly is a memory that I don't think I'll ever forget. 

(It also remains the only time that I remember ever having a surprise party thrown for me.  But hey, one birthday out of thirty-three isn't that bad of a track record.)

So, let's go back in time twenty-two years to the time in which my eleventh birthday took place, and see what the story is behind this #1 hit.



ARTIST:  Kris Kross
SONG:  Jump
ALBUM:  Totally Krossed Out
DATE RELEASED:  February 6, 1992
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 8 weeks

Wow!  Kris Kross!  Remember them?  When I was in sixth grade, they were all over the radio!  And would you believe that "Jump" was their very first hit and that it stayed at the top of the charts for two months before being dethroned by Mariah Carey's "I'll Be There" in June 1992?  That's quite an impressive feat!

But not nearly as impressive as the fact that when Kris Kross were first hitting the music scene, the two members were only twelve and thirteen!



The story behind Kris Kross goes like this.  The two members of Kris Kross (Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith) were discovered at an Atlanta shopping mall by then 19-year-old Jermaine Dupri in 1991.  At the time, Kelly was thirteen and Smith was just twelve.  Their voices had not yet hit puberty at the time, and yet, both of them were signed to Ruffhouse Records in early 1992.

The name Kris Kross was chosen as the duo's name for a number of reasons.  For one, both members of the band were named Chris, so that was a given that they would use their name in some format.  As for why they adopted the letter K instead of a C for their name, I'm not sure exactly what the reason was behind it.  But, I suppose that I can only speculate that they did it to distinguish themselves from singer Christopher Cross, who had several hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s with "Think of Laura", "Ride Like The Wind", and "Sailing".

Oh, and one other thing that the duo did that separated themselves from the mainstream involved their fashion.  Not only were their clothing items on the baggy side, but they also opted to wear them completely backwards as well.  I suppose that adds another dimension to the "Kris Kross" name, as the duo wore their clothes the opposite way of how most people did.  Personally, I don't know how people could wear their jeans backwards.  Wouldn't it be a heck of a time trying to get the zipper to go up?

Oh, well...I suppose wearing your jeans backwards is only ever so slightly better than wearing your pants down so low, people can actually see the button that is clasping the fly on your boxer shorts together.  But only slightly.



Anyway, let's talk about the single "Jump", which spent an astounding total of eight weeks on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1992.  When it was released, it became the fastest selling single since 1977 to hit the music stores, and was the first song to spend eight consecutive weeks at the top of the charts in nine years.  Of course, Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey would double that run in late 1995 with their single "One Sweet Day", but back in 1992, it was a big deal.

I should also note that this song kept some other established groups from reaching the Top 40.  En Vogue's "My Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It)" and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge" only made it to #2 because of the success of the Kris Kross song.

(Which to me was sort of a shame as having a Red Hot Chili Peppers song hit the top of the charts on your birthday would have been the absolute pinnacle of awesomeness.  But hey, I admit I liked Kris Kross back in the day.)

Of course, the song wasn't without some minor controversy as well.  When Kris Kross first came out, they had a bit of feud going on with another rap group, "Another Bad Creation", and the initial pressing of the "Jump" single contained a sample of the "Another Bad Creation" single "Playground", which was a hit in 1991.  The song played, then you heard a scratching song, and then the song "Jump" played in full.  But this pressing didn't last too long, as the duo had to get rid of the "Playground" sample due to charges of copyright infringement.

Even so, the song still managed to sell a total of over two million copies, making it third best-selling song of 1992.  Not bad for a couple of kids.  They certainly achieved more than I did when I was twelve/thirteen.  At that age, I considered it a huge feat to completely beat "Final Fantasy VI" in a time of just under forty-eight hours!

One final note to add about this song.  As you know, the song hit the top of the charts in the United States.  But it also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Switzerland.  And when the end of the decade charts were published for the 1990s, it was the twenty-third most successful song of the entire decade according to Billboard. 

After the success of "Jump", it earned the duo enough credibility to tour with Michael Jackson on his 1992 "Dangerous" tour, and they made cameo appearances in a Michael Jackson music video, as well as in videos released by TLC and Run-D.M.C.  They even had another Top 20 hit in 1992 with the single "Warm it Up", a third Top 20 hit a year later with "Alright", and a fourth Top 20 hit with "Tonite's The Night" in 1995. 



However, by 1996, Kris Kross had decided that enough was enough, and the two members of the band went their separate ways shortly after their third album was released.  Of course, by then both members of Kris Kross were almost eighteen, and it was only natural that they would want to try doing things on their own.  But after trying their hands at solo careers, the two members did reunite for a twentieth anniversary celebration for So So Def Recordings - a company owned by the very man who discovered Kris Kross, Jermaine Dupri.

Sadly, that concert, which was held on February 23, 2013 would be the final time in which Chris Kelly and Chris Smith would perform together.  Less than three months later, on May 1, 2013, Chris Kelly was found in his Atlanta home unconscious.  Despite efforts to save his life, Kelly died in an Atlanta hospital later that afternoon.  



Chris Kelly was only 34 years old.  The cause of death was linked to drug abuse. 

The day after Kelly died, Jermaine Dupri paid tribute to Kelly on his Twitter page, referring to Kelly as the son that he never had.  And Chris Smith - who had been friends with Kelly since they were in the first grade - was equally devastated.

But you know, even though one-half of Kris Kross is now gone, it's nice to know that the group still lives on in some manner.  Of course, "Jump" forever has a place in rap music history, but Kris Kross also inspired other hip hop and new jack swing artists find their way onto the charts.  I also believe that Kris Kross was one of the many groups that changed the way that music was presented during the 1990s.  I can honestly say that I'm still a fan of early 1990s hip hop and new jack swing music, largely because of the presence of Kris Kross on the charts.

And, hey...that song was #1 during one of my favourite birthdays ever.  How can I not love it?

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Bustin' Loose


First things first...get a good look at this blog right now.  Get a look at the light purple wallpaper background.  The light yellow boxes where the blog entries are written.  The Impact font that has been a staple of this blog for at least two years.  The purple and blue splotchy logo with the Italicized white "A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE" enclosed within it for the last few months.  

Get a nice good look at it now...because this is going to be the last time you see this look.

Yes, this design served me well over the last two years (prior to that, I used a pink and blue motif during this blog's earliest days).  But, like all good things, it's time for a major overhaul.  And you've seen some of these changes in action so far with the slight changes in font, more use of colour, and the rearrangement of the theme days.

Well, this weekend brings forth the biggest change of all.  And sometime this weekend, that change will be implemented in what will be the biggest layout change that I've ever done with this blog.  New logo, new colour scheme, new everything!  I've definitely experimented with some various backgrounds and different colour schemes, and I think I found one to match the wicked cool logo that my MOTIVE4CHANGE co-host Joshua designed for me.  I am hoping that you enjoy the new look, and as always, I encourage feedback from all my readers!  After all, this blog is as much your creation as it is mine!  You guys and gals truly inspire me to do my best here.  I truly mean that.

So, anyway, that's enough about that.  Trust me when I tell you that you'll know when the changes come.  It will be that drastic. 

Now, let's talk about the new feature based on an old feature.  It's Saturday Night At The Movies!

And, this week, I've decided to pick a movie that was released approximately thirty-three years ago this week.  But thirty-three is such an odd number, don't you think?  Not thirty, or forty, but thirty-three.  Why the big deal about 33?



Well, I have a bit of a confession for you all.  This weekend, I happen to turn the big 3-3.  And, I have to tell you that I'm hoping that 33 is a good year.  It just seems like a number that could bring forth huge possibilities and huge changes.  This blog makeover is certainly only the beginning of that.  And, maybe if you're interested, I'll fill you in on some of the other changes that I'll be doing in my 33rd year of life.  But, only if you're interested.  I won't force you.

So, this explains why I wanted to feature a movie that was released in May 1981.  But here's the problem.  Apparently, May 1981 was NOT a good month for movies at all.  I hadn't even heard of a good 75% of the films that were listed as new releases during that time period, and the others that were there were films that I actually despised. 

I was about ready to give up hope and move right on to June 1981 when I came across one film on the list that I remember liking.  It's not my all-time favourite movie, but it's certainly the one movie on the list that I can talk about long enough to do a substantial blog on!

It's a film that was originally released four days after my actual birthday, on May 22, 1981, and the film starred the late Richard Pryor in a movie about an ex-con who is granted a second chance to live a crime-free life following the violation of his probation.



But the actual plot of the movie is nothing compared to the real-life dramatic incident that happened to Pryor during the filming of this movie.  We'll get to that a little bit later.



For now, let's talk a bit about the plot of the 1981 film "Bustin' Loose", the topic of this week's movie discussion.  In addition to Richard Pryor, the film starred Cicely Tyson, Robert Christian, and a whole lot of child actors.  You'll learn more about those kids in the next couple of paragraphs.

The film received mixed to mediocre reviews when it was released.  Some critics loved it, others didn't care for it.  But the movie ended up making a grand total of $31 million at the box office.  Which granted doesn't seem like a lot of money given that movies like "Avatar" reached the one billion dollar mark.  But keep in mind that money bought a lot more thirty-three years ago than it does now.

Anyway, Richard Pryor starred as convicted felon Joe Braxton, a man who does something incredibly stupid while on parole.  Needless to say, if you're out on parole for a crime, it might not be the best idea to steal a shipment of television sets from an electronics store.  Especially if you're dumb enough to get caught while doing it.

Now, I've never been in trouble with the law before, so I can only speculate what happens when a person violates the conditions of their parole.  But I'm fairly sure that any parole violators usually get the book thrown at them.

But here's the twist in "Bustin' Loose".  In this case, Braxton manages to get a second chance (after playing a game of good old reverse psychology on the judge who is presiding over the trial), and he ends up going on an adventure with his parole officer (Christian), a school teacher named Vivian (Tyson), and eight special needs children who have yet to be relocated to new schools after their old one (in which Vivian used to teach at) closed down.  Just to put into perspective what sorts of kids I'm talking about, let's break it down.  We have one kid who is desperate to learn how to drive even though he is completely blind.  We have another child who has an unhealthy obsession with torching things and watching them burn.  And we have a little girl who once worked as a child prostitute in Vietnam.

Quite the motley crew of characters, eh?

Anyway, the decision to take the children out to a farm that Vivian's aunt owns in Washington seems to be the most logical one, so Braxton decides to fix up an old school bus and take the kids to the farm himself.  And, naturally, Braxton ends up spending so much time with the children that he starts to find ways to help them express themselves better, and to help them cope in a world that frequently made them feel bad about themselves.

Now, that's really all of the plot details that I can give out at this time.  Anything else would be spoiling the film for you.  And, even though the movie discussion has switched from Mondays to Saturdays, I will state that the rules of me not revealing the ending to any of these films will remain firmly in place no matter what day movie discussions fall on.

But to make it up to you, I have a very interesting story to tell you about one behind the scenes moment that almost killed Richard Pryor!

Now, it should come as no secret that Richard Pryor had problems with substance abuse and alcohol.  It was well documented, especially in the early part of his career.  Abusing drugs and alcohol had been a coping strategy for Pryor to deal with depression.  Unfortunately, his dependency on alcohol and drugs lead to an incident that happened on June 9, 1980 while he was filming "Bustin' Loose".  He was attempting to freebase cocaine while drinking a bottle of rum.  Certainly not the greatest combination in the world.

And, certainly not the smartest thing that Pryor ever did.  During the process, he accidentally set himself on fire and instead of doing the stop, drop, and roll thing that you're supposed to do when your clothes catch on fire, he ran down the street screeching like a banshee before police came upon the sight and subdued him while putting out the flames.  By the time he was taken to hospital, he had fifty per cent of his body covered with serious burns, and he spent a total of six weeks recuperating in hospital.  Although reports differ from how things really went down (theories range from Pryor accidentally setting himself on fire in a drug induced rage to Pryor actually attempting to commit suicide), regardless, it happened.

Fortunately, Richard survived the incident, only to be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years later.  Still, he managed to live twenty-five more years, passing away in 2005 at the age of 65.

Reportedly with a smile on his face, according to his widow, Jennifer.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Baking in a Gluten-Free/Nut-Free/Egg-Free World


All right.  Before I go ahead with today's edition of the brand new Foodie Friday theme day, I wanted to do a little bit of self-promotion courtesy of an iPad mini, a white board, and a dream.  Now, granted, most of you who don't live in Ontario, Canada will likely not be able to get to this event, but for those of you who are, consider it my little piece of cross-promotion.



Once again I will be doing the "Relay for Life" event in my hometown, a 12-hour event which will have all participants walking around a track for cancer research.  I had such a great time last year with the event and I am definitely looking forward to participating in the event again this year with some of my friends from work.  And, because we're trying to raise money for cancer research, our team is definitely coming up with ways to try and raise money for the event.

And, what better way than with a cake walk and bake sale?  Or, as I like to call it, the "Cake 'n' Bake"!

Seriously, there's just something about bake sales that always have my mouth watering and my sweet tooth tingling with excitement!  As someone who admittedly has an out-of-control appetite for anything sweet, I've always loved a great bake sale.  And, while I always have maintained that my mother makes some of the greatest baked goods in the whole world, I must say that as long as a lot of love and care was spent on each individual cookie, brownie, nanaimo bar, or pan of baklava, I would be game to eating anything.



Well, anything that doesn't contain a strawberry, that is.  I have an allergy to strawberries.  Luckily, the strawberry is the only berry (and food for that matter) that I have an allergic reaction to.  In fact, it's not even that serious of an allergy.  I just develop several itchy spots all over my body that are the same colour as a strawberry.  It's more annoying than anything.

(And, it makes it really hard to buy yogurt, as 90% of all yogurt multipacks have at least three containers of strawberry yogurt in them.)

But, I'm just thankful that I have but ONE food allergy.  I don't know if it's just me that is noticing this, but aren't food allergies becoming more and more common these days?

Twenty years ago when I graduated elementary school, there was a time in which kids could bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and the teachers wouldn't bat an eye.  These days, a kid brings in a peanut butter cookie and the school board treats it as if it's a weapon of mass destruction!

I honestly don't really know how to explain why there has been such an increase in food allergies as of late.  Whether it is due to the fault of pesticides, resistance to antibiotics, not enough exposure to probiotics, or simply the need to have excessively clean homes and businesses causing the rise...it's really hard to say.

But these days, you can't seem to go into a supermarket without being bombarded with lots of brand new labels on products.  Products boasting that they are peanut-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free, and dairy-free.  And, in some of these cases, these foods can also be taste-free!

It certainly makes preparing foods to sell at a bake sale that much harder.  For me it's easy enough to still select a treat.  All I have to do is choose foods that do not have strawberries in them.  But for people who have allergies to dairy, nuts, and eggs, it can be that much more difficult.  As far back as I could remember, my mom used all three of these things in almost every single thing she has ever baked.  I couldn't imagine not being able to eat any cookie, cake slice, or brownie that my mom makes because of an allergy to one or more key ingredient. 

I mean, surely there has to be some sort of baked treat that people with any kind of allergy could eat.  I just have to find them, right?

One problem.  My mother doesn't own any sort of cookbook that have recipes that are gluten-free, dairy-free, or nut-free.  So, where would I go to get recipes that people of all nutritional tolerances can enjoy?

Well, would you believe that my own workplace inspired today's recipe share?

You see, there's a magazine that is available at most stores in the retail chain that I work for.  It's a magazine that essentially is targeted towards the typical shopper at one of the stores - a woman in her late thirties/early forties with a couple of children.  It features fashion tips, crafts and games for children, ideas for things to make the holidays better, and of course, it has a whole section for recipes.

And, the best part?  The magazine is absolutely free.  You really don't even have to buy anything at the store to get the magazine.

But here's the thing.  The magazine is only available in Canadian stores.  And since most of my readers come from the United States, you probably won't know where to get this magazine unless you know how to download it onto your smartphone or tablet.

Well, I have a special treat for you.  I'm sure that the people who came up with the recipe page for this magazine won't mind if I scan the recipes from the latest issue on my scanner, and then post the recipes in my blog.  After all, the magazine is absolutely free, and I'm sure that the people who made the recipes up would be quite happy to see them traveling across the globe!

As it so happens, this month's edition of the magazine had a section that focused entirely on tasty treats that still tasted like the cookies and brownies you grew up with, but substituting other ingredients for the ones that would cause people to have serious allergic reactions.

Now, I myself haven't tried these recipes yet, but they certainly look very tasty on the page.  For those of you who do try the recipes, please let me know how they turned out!

For now, enjoy these recipes for Nut-Free Butter Tart Squares, Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Gluten-Free Brownies!  Bon appetit (and, don't worry, if you click on the images, you can blow the font up so that it is easier to read)!



And, I have one more final thing to say before I close the recipe book on another Foodie Friday.  If you have any recipes that you would like to spotlight in this space (it can be anything you want), by all means, you are more than welcome to send it to me.  I will give you full credit for your recipe, and you will have your recipe shared with people all over the world!  I'd call that a great trade-off!

And, I even have an e-mail address where you can send your recipes.  You can send them to
matthewwturcotte518@gmail.com or if you like, you can visit the "A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE" Facebook page and leave a recipe there.  Or, you can just leave a comment below!